Compartment shelving



June 5, @340 A. c. GREFFITH 196L144- GOMPARTMENT SHELVING Filed Oct. 14, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR 25 flR-rHu/e C. GE/FF/TH. 22 BY ATTORNEY june 5, 1934. A. c. GRIFFITH 1,961,144

COMPARTMENT SHELVING Filed Oct. 14, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR BYWa/e27 ATTORNEY Patented June 5, 1934 1,961,144 pm'rso STATES PATENT OFFICE COMPARTMENT SHELVING Arthur o. crumb, Chicago, 111., assignor to United States Gypsum Company, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of lllinois Application @ctoloer 14,1933, Serial No. 693,537 c 'illairns. (o1. 211-153) into or out of the refrigerator. Due to the coarseness of the weave of the wire and the small area contact with the articles in the refrigerator, some of the articles and smaller dishes areapt to tip over or even fall through the meshes. The wovenwire shelves are also relatively expensive to manufacture.

An object oiv this invention therefore, is to provide a refrigerator shelf of inexpensive construction made from flattened expanded metal secured to a suitable frame.

Another object of the invention is to provide a flattened expanded metal shelf which will present a comparatively broad surface to the articles and dishes in a refrigerator so as to prevent them from tipping over or falling through the shelf.

A furtherobject of the invention is to provide a refrigerator shelf which may be tinned, galvanized, lacquered, or otherwise coated and which will prevent the accumulation of dirt in cracks and will give sanitary service over a longperiod of time.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a shelf of flattened expanded metal which is suitable for use in driers, poultry houses, etc.; also to improve shelves in other respects hereinafter specified and claimed.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, in which:

Fig. l is a perspective view of a preferred form of my improved refrigerator shelf,

Fig. 2 is a large scale'sectional view through the shelf taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation through rolls of a type suitable for prepa'rting flattened expanded metal for use in shelving,

Fig. 4 is a sectional elevation through a modified form of pressing apparatus for preparing the flattened expanded metal,

Fig. 5 is a centralsectional elevation through part of the apparatus for smoothing the flattened expanded metal by a brushing operation,

' Fig. 6 is a sectional elevationf through a welding apparatus for attaching a frame to a. sheet of flattened expanded metal,

Fig. 'l is a perspective view of a refrigerator with myimproved shelves in position,

Fig. 9 is a sectional elevation through a further modified form of shelf.

-The improved refrigerator shelf consists of a sheet of flattened expanded metal 15 in which the strands 16 and bonds 17 all he in a common plane which is the plane of the sheet. The expanded metal may have diamond-shaped openings 18 or any other shaped openings may be provided, the essential requirement being that the bonds and strands are all rolled flat so as to provide a smooth surface for the movement of dishes and articles in the refrigerator. made in rectangular form or. outline, but may be of any desired irregular shape such as the shape shown in the second shelf from the top in the refrigerator shown in Fig. 7. The ends of the bonds or strands are preferably attached to a frame 19 of round cross section by means of a spot-welding operation which simultaneously reduces the thickness of the bonds or strands to form a feathered edge 20, ihus making a smooth, neat appearing outer edge for the frame and avoiding pockets in which. dirt can accumulate which would otherwise produce unsanitary conditions in the refrigerator.

The flattening of the expandedmetal is preferably accomplished by means of opposite, mating frusto-conical rolls 22 which are mounted upon positively driven shafts 23. Each pair of rolls 22 is so positioned as to engage the bonds which lie at an angle to the plane of the sheet and flatten them down. Two or more successive rollers may be used having different face angles to accomplish the gradual flattening of the bonds and strands. Plain cylindrical rollers maybe used for the final flattening operation.

As an alternate form of accomplishing the flattening of the expanded metal, the apparatus shown in Fig. 4 may be used in which a pressing head 25 is provided with an upstanding shank 26 for receiving anysort of pressure means, such as a mechanical or hydraulic press. Outstanding shoulders 27 are provided on the head 26, said shoulders engaging between fixed guides 28 formed on frame means 29. The guides 28 have guide faces 30 which extend at an angle to the vertical so that the pressing head 25 will move laterally, thus aiding in bending the bonds 17 The shelves are preferably down into a horizontal plane. A suitable table or 36 and 37 have curved operating faces 39 and 40 respectively, which contact with the frame bar 19 and with the outer ends of the bonds 17 so as to flatten said bonds into the feathered edge 20 simullaneously with the welding operation. This manner of welding the flattened expanded metal sheets to the frame bar reduces the cost of manufacture since a subsequent smoothing and finishing operation is avoided.

Prior to the welding operation, the sheet of flattened expanded metal is subjected to a vigorous brushing operation by means of opposed wire brushes 42 and 43 which rotate at a high. speed against the faces of the sheet of expanded metal and serve to remove any sharp edges which result from previous operations. Rolls 44 and 45 may be used to move the sheets of expanded metal between the brushes 42 and 43. After the shelves have been assembled, they are coated with a protective coating by dipping in molten tin or zinc, or asuitable lacquer or enamel may be used. If desired, a vitreous enamel may be applied to the finished shelves.

In the modified form of shelf shown in Fig. 8, the ends of the bonds 17 are received between the legs of U-shaped melal frame bars 46 and are secured thereto, as by spot-welding. In the form of invention shown in Fig. 9, the ends of the bonds and strands may be bent about the frame bar 19 to tightly embrace the same, the final union being secured by means of the metal applied during the tinning operation. The finished shelves are inserted in the mechanical or other refrigerators 48 as shown in Fig. 7.

I would state in conclusion that while the illustrated examples constitute practical embodiments of my invention, I do not wish to limit myself precisely to these details, since manifestly, the

same may be considerably varied without departing from the spirit of the'invention as defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. A shelf for refrigerators, stoves and the like comprising a flat expanded metal web having strands and bonds extending in a common plane, and a metallic frame extending around the periphery of said web, marginal strands and bonds extending partially around said frame and being secured thereto, so as to provide a substantially smooth surface at the edge of the shelf.

2. A shelf for refrigerators, stoves and the like comprising a flat expanded metal web having all of its strands and bonds extending in a common plane throughout the extent of the full thickness of said strands and bonds, and a frame bar extending around and below the periphery of said web, marginal bonds and strands of said web being secured to said bar and no portion of said Web extending beyond the periphery of said bar.

3. A shelf for refrigerators, stoves and the like comprising a flat expanded metal web having all of its strands and bonds extending substantially in a common plane, and a metallic frame round in cross section extending around and below the periphery of said web and welded to marginal bonds and strands of said web, no portion of said web extending beyond the periphery of said frame.

4. A shelf for refrigerators, stoves and the like comprising a flat expanded metal web having strands and bonds extending in a common plane, and a metallic frame extending around the periphery of said web and welded to the marginal bonds and strands, the latter being tapered to a thin edge adjacent said frame so as to provide a substantially smooth exterior surface.

5. A shelf for refrigerators, stoves and the like comprising a fiat expanded metal web having strands and bonds extending in a common plane, and a metallic frame round in cross section extending around the periphery of said web and welded to the marginal bonds and strands, the latter being tapered to a thin edge adjacent said frame so as to provide a substantially smooth 1 3 exterior surface.

6. A shelf for refrigerators, stoves, and the like} comprising a rigid frame and a flat expanded metal web having strands and bonds extending in a common plane, bonds and strands at the mar- 5 gins of said Web lying substantially in the same plane as the body of said web throughout the extent of the full thickness of said strands and bonds and being connected to said frame, no portion of said web at the two opposite side edges thereof extending beyond the periphery of said frame, and said frame being positioned below said web. a

ARTHUR C GRIFFITH. 

